Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography for Glaucoma Diagnosis

Identification of structural damage to the optic nerve and retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) is an essential component of diagnosis and management of glaucoma. The introduction of spectral-domain OCT (SD-OCT) has allowed objective quantification of damage to these structures with unprecedented resolution. In addition, recent attention has been directed towards imaging the macular area for quantifying loss of neural tissue caused by the disease. Many studies have evaluated and compared the diagnostic accuracies of a variety of parameters that can be obtained from imaging these areas of the ocular fundus. In this article, we critically review the existing literature evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of SD-OCT in glaucoma and we discuss issues related to how SD-OCT results should be incorporated into clinical practice.